Stripped Citizenship

(Remember Mehran Karimi Nasseri? This is what going to happen when you start revoking citizenships and those stateless people have no where to go. Image source: Wikipedia)

I guess 2 wrongs cannot make 1 right…

In the recent fiasco of PM’s special assistant uttering racist statements, there has many things done and called for by many Malaysians. Some asked for his public apology, others have made police report and have urged the police to investigate him under the Sedition Act. Nasir Safar on the other hand has apologised (perhaps under protest) and has tendered his resignation though for some, this is still not enough – they say he still need to face the music.

Whilst we are pushing the long arm of the law to deal with Nasir Safar’s uncalled for statement, there are few who decided to go one step further and demanded for his citizenship.

A group of Malaysian Indian NGOs led by Hindu Sangam Malaysia will initiate legal action against Nasir Safar, demanding that his citizenship be revoked.

(Source: Malaysiakini)

Didn’t these morons read what Dr M has said in the papers recently? He said:-

“That should not be questioned. We cannot banish our citizens now. The Constitution provides that you cannot take away citizenships,” he told reporters after opening the Malaysian Liver Foundation building at Ara Damansara here on Wednesday.

Mighty words from the old man who as a PM was not so successful to unite Malaysians as one people and the Malaysian Indian NGOs must also remember that many Malaysians did not like similar calls when this happened:-

Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam has rebuked Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders for their “outrageous actions” and urged the Government to revoke their citizenship.

Or when this happened:-

Malay nationalist group Gagasan Melayu Perak (GMP) told Ipoh Barat DAP parliamentarian M Kulasegaran to give up his citizenship and leave the country if he was unhappy with the establishment of Malay supremacy and the New Economic Policy (NEP). (2009)

Or when this happened:-

In July, when the status of Malaysia as an Islamic state was being debated, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang of the DAP argued Malaysia was clearly a secular state, and cited a 1988 decision by the Federal Court. Badruddin then angrily yelled, “Malaysia ini negara Islam, you tak suka, you keluar dari Malaysia!“

(“Malaysia is an Islamic state, you don’t like it, you get out of Malaysia!”)

53 years after we have gained our independence and decided to live together as one nation, we still have uneducated people going around and asking the citizenship of those at fault to be stripped. We have a good legal framework in place and those at fault should be subjected to the provisions of the law.

Certainly no one deserves to be punished to the extent of being stripped his’/her’s citizenship – we are no longer in Stone Age where you can chase anyone out if they did something wrong.

Read Also

Revoke Citizenship

Flashback – 2009

It is the time of the year again for a quick review of the path that this blog have taken throughout the year 2009.

(The maestro finally grabbing the Oscars for his music for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009 – image source: http://gudies.wordpress.com)

Read past flashbacks:-

• 2006
• 2007
• 2008

January 2009

• Started watching movies which in turn gave ‘birth’ to the movie review page
• YB Khalid Samad made his mark as loveable PAS leader
• DAP & PAS clashed on the proposed Hudud laws
• Started having doubts on the quality of food that we eat these days on the outside
• An rather embarrassing wardrobe malfunction

February 2009

• The lopsided agreement is out in the open
• Nagesh, the veteran comedian passed away
• The state of Perak and Malaysians as whole got screwed
• Call for Elizabeth Wong to step down after comprising photos was leaked in the net
• Dr M said Malaysians cannot be Malaysians unless they think like Malaysians
• Slumdog Millionaire won 8 Oscars!

March 2009

• Bought a new TV
• Perak State Government contravened its meeting under a tree
• Rosmah said that it was her husband’s destiny to lead the country
• We got conned into going for a MLM talk
• I realised that spicy sambal is missing the “spiceness” these days
• Malaysia geared for Earth Hour 2009

April 2009

• Survey in Readers’ Digest shows that Malaysians prayed the most
• Najib became the next Prime Minister after Pak Lah
• There were still plenty of old baggages in Najib’s new Cabinet
• Najib starts talking about KPIs
• We got trapped in an elevator
• TED started to make headways
• RPK self exiled himself
• 2009 Pulitzer Prize winners was announced

May 2009

• Went for Pangkor Break
• Perak had double Speakers
• Malaysia recorded the first H1N1 case
• LTTE leader shot dead, ending one of the longest civil war in Asia
• Police arrest lawyers who went to act for their clients
• The concept of 1Sekolah crops out

June 2009

• PKFZ fiasco started to become a pain on the neck
• My horn started to give problems
• The existence of a proper safety board in Malaysia started to be in question
• Malaysia was blacklisted for human trafficking
• After some trouble with the horns, I managed to get new ones
• Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett passed away
• My wife finally bought her own car
• One dumb Malaysian politician decided to go against the world on H1N1

July 2009

• Malaysia decided to put reverse gear on using English for Maths and Science
• Despite the controversies, Malaysia finally got its own submarine
• Teoh Beng Hock was found dead after an evening with MACC
• My wife got her first major problem with her car
• Reviewed one of the best Tamil movies to be out in the recent years
• Yassim Ahmad passed away
• Pro ISA and anti ISA decided to have street rally on the same day

August 2009

• Selangor PAS propose beer ban…again
• Flew to Brunei for a week assignment
• Rothmans Honda, Lucky Strike Suzuki and Marlboro Yamaha remembered

September 2009

• The ugly side of cow’s head appeared in Malaysia
• Angry mob in Indonesia
• Viva passed its first long journey test
• Khir Toyo was linked with multi million mansion and still no leads by MACC
• Najib announced F1 by Malaysia
• Although it was long overdue, I finally made my move to the DSLR world

October 2009

• We, Malaysians experienced the side effect of the Indonesian quakes
• My photo blog was relaunched after, ahem, purchase of new DSLR
• I have landed in the land of Persia
• This year was not the first time I celebrated Deepavali abroad

November 2009

• In the anticipation for NaNoWriMo 2009, I managed to complete my 2008 story in full
• Hindraf rally was remembered
• After 50,131 words, I managed to pass the NaNoWriMo 2009’s finishing line

December 2009

• Can Malaysia be trusted to honour agreements?
• The issue of millions transferred through illegal means raised
• A good proposal – donate more for schools than for rich temples
• Will Malaysian politicians adopt a code of ethics?
• Jet engines went missing – a fact that was hidden from public for nearby 2 years
• Petronas signed up for Mercedes F1 instead of Lotus F1

Hope to have a good year in 2010

Happy New Year and Happy Holidays everyone!

Hindraf Rally Remembered

(Government’s response to Hindraf’s 2007 Rally. Image source: http://www.skthew.com)

25th November 2009 marks the 2nd anniversary of the unprecedented street rally by Indians under the now “banned but not crippled” organisation called Hindraf in this country.

From Wikipedia:-

The 2007 Hindraf rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 25, 2007.

The rally organizer, the Hindu Rights Action Force, had called the protest over alleged discriminatory policies which favour ethnic Malays. The rally was the second such street protest after the 2007 Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur on November 10, 2007.

The rally started when a crowd estimated to be between 5,000 to 30,000 people gathered outside the Petronas Twin Towers at midnight, early Sunday morning. At least 240 people were detained, but half of them were later released.

Read Hindraf rally related posts:-

Hindraf protest – realistic way out?

Hindraf – not the end of the story

Hindraf – a year end thought

Hindraf – police and road blocks

Hindraf – a thorn that won’t go away

When Hindraf took to the streets in November 2007, certainly it was not done overnight. Hindraf existed long before that and often in thick of actions when it comes to demolishment of temples particularly in the state of Selangor.

Hindraf is a coalition of 30 Hindu non-governmental organizations committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in a multiracial Malaysia (source)

Demolishment of temples under the old Selangor MB, Khir Toyo was one of the catalysts for the organisation to take the matter to the streets.

The case against Hindraf

Although the rally itself was tainted with accusations of being highly racist (that it only takes care of Indians and not Malaysians in general), that Hindraf is trying to seek help from a foreign sovereign instead of the Malaysian King who in fact is our real sovereign (which many called it as treason on the highest order) and some of the demands in the full list of demands was worded too extreme and unreasonable.

The police at one point even painted that there was a connection between Hindraf and the Tamil Elam Tigers who were fighting for separate state in Sri Lanka but it was a case that was never proven to this day.

Hindraf vs MIC

One of the biggest implications of the Hindraf’s rally, in my opinion, was that it created a room for many Indians to start questioning the role of MIC when it comes to the welfare of Indians in this country. Long before there was general election and long before MIC realised the lost of Indian support in the ballot box, there was already Hindraf movement all over the country participating in prayers in the many temples and getting involved when there are any issues affecting the community.

Hindraf’s role in getting involved in the community’s issues was a role that I think MIC could have played more effectively but with older issues like the Telekom shares remains unsettled, many have lost confidence in MIC’s ability to continue to champion the plight of the community. Hindraf provided the alternative avenue. What more when there was a lack of coordination and solution provided when it faced with demolishment of temples in Selangor? This is why PKR, DAP and even PAS managed to grab the big swing in Indian voters during the general election.

Makkal Sakthi

Another implication that resulted from Hindraf rally and before that with Bersih and protest against toll hike was the high handedness of the government when it comes to dealing with dissent voices of the people. Instead of friendly dialogue, forum or close knit communication, the response was often come in form of arrests, tear gas, water cannon and arrogant discard of issues. The Hindraf leaders were promptly arrested under the ISA and spent almost 2 years in custody. There was a clear lack of engagement between the government with the people and the problems facing all Malaysians.

The cry “Makkal Sakthi” (or People’s Power) became famous battle cry during the last general election and it has impact on all walk of life (not limiting to Indians under Hindraf). As V mentioned in the movie V for Vendetta –

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people”

Next chapter

Admittedly Hindraf is now seen has lost their core objective, mainly due to several reasons such as some of the states where they were very active such as Perak and Selangor have fallen into the opposition hands, there has been more swing towards Indian welfare and focus on the problems faced by the community by the government under Najib’s administration and more importantly, due to breakup of Hindraf itself into many small factions including one who formed their own political party.

Hindraf’s rally for right or wrong, did achieve one thing that it was meant to do – that is to create awareness, both for the government and for the Indians who been ignorant of the issues facing the community.

Thankfully things are better under the Pakatan Rakyat’s administration (except perhaps on the Kampung Buah Pala incident) and to some extent, under Najib’s administration.

It is hoped that the government irregardless it is from BN or PR, to engage the issues with more conviction and effective rather than silencing them in swift harsh actions. Otherwise, Malaysians will be far from being one as Bangsa Malaysia and street rallies like the one organised by Hindraf will be part of our daily life.

Samy Vellu = MIC

It looks a case of Samy Vellu = MIC or rather MIC = Samy Vellu, forever and ever…

(Read my lips – I will resign if my No 2 man is ready but….. Image source: http://daylife.com)

Not a big fan of the ‘self claiming representatives’ of the Indian community (a mirage that was scattered by the Hindraf rallies) and whom backsides got whacked left, right and centre in the last general election but recent developments in calling the MIC supremo to stand down has been nothing but comical.

In recent months, if you have noticed, there has been a steady stream of attack against Samy Vellu – from the huge protest in last Maika shareholders’ meeting, the recent posts by Raja Petra on Samy Vellu, the recent disclosure of ‘what really happened’ with Maika shares, how Samy Vellu became the President due to missing votes and of course Dr M’s attacks on Samy Vellu.

What Dr M said about his ex-member in the cabinet was understandable but still a classic:-

‘In other countries, when a leader fails, he resigns voluntarily. In Japan, he commits harakiri (suicide). We are not asking him (Samy Vellu) to commit harakiri’.

(Source: Malaysiakini)

No one could be more direct than Dr. M but some people still don’t get the message, don’t they? Of course, that triggered the call for ‘shoe garland’ for Dr M but only after an overwhelming condemnation, Samy Vellu decided to act – the person who called for ‘shoe garland’ was swiftly disciplined and cornered Samy Vellu decided to throw in a challenge:-

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said he was prepared to hand over the leadership of the party “tomorrow” if his deputy Datuk G. Palanivel was ready to take over.

(Source: TheStar)

Samy Vellu preparing to leave the party was not something new – he have said many times and every time that happens, he is still in the helm of the party (I recall him saying the same thing – if the party members do not want him, he will leave).

The likelihood of Samy leaving with the issue of Maika shares still fresh on many frustrated Indians is very small. Remember Samy keep saying that he has some ‘unfinished business’ in MIC and therefore still hanging on to the post? The question is what is this unfinished business? Is it getting the Indians back on the prosperity or fortifying himself or getting things in order from future sanctions? If there is ‘unfinished business’, why can’t someone else take over and completes it? The argument of ‘unfinished business’ is getting too suspicious.

Well, that is what I think too – otherwise he would have left if not when UMNO’s Dr. M or MCA’s Lim Liong Sik left, at least when MIC got whacked in the last general election  – get the party revamped by someone new.

But no, he remained where he is and there is no sight of any change of guards at MIC at least for next few years.  There was talks of ‘rebranding’ but unsurprisingly it affected everyone else but him.

Then there was even pressure from the PM to get Samy Vellu to leave his seat and get someone else to take over. After all, both UMNO and MCA have changed their presidents since the departure of Dr. M, didn’t they?

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he would meet MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu for the second time this year to discuss the party’s succession plan.

(Source: NST)

But the thing is – no body believed Samy Vellu when he said he is prepared to leave and true to the predictions, Palanivel decided not to take Samy Vellu’s challenge and decided to remain a loyal, quiet pussy:-

MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel has thrown the ball back to party chief Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu on when the long-serving MIC president will vacate the post.

(Source: TheStar)

Palanivel’s action to throw back the decision to vacant the president’s seat back to Samy was anticipated from day 1. After all, he is the president’s main man and next in line – surely he will not wish to ‘rock the boat’. So, while the battle for the pilot’s seat at MIC is still on-going (in the open and covertly), Najib have started to open another channel to reach out to the Indian community:-

The Prime Minister has accepted the invitation to launch the newly-formed Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party on Oct 10. The party, which was officially registered early this year, is a splinter group of the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) which organised anti-government rallies in November 2007.

(Source: TheStar)

Does this means another nail has been struck on the coffin on Samy’s attempts to still clinging on the president’s seat in MIC? Whatever it is, it remains comical to see a desperate man clinging on the post whilst fighting off the call to step down with promises to step down in near future.

Oh Fuck!

I could not believe this! Talk about bad timing.

(When will PDRM ever learn? Putting up massive road blocks will never be the solution when there is a massive rally in the city. Image source: Malaysiakini)

Last year, me and my cousin decided to go for our “quarterly” blood donation but we got involved in the mother of traffic jam when the morons at the Home Ministry decided to put up road blocks and made road users to experience hell.

Reason for road block? To look for highly wanted criminals? No. To look for some rouge road users? No. To look for someone with a highly contagious diseases? No. The road block was put up a day early when Hindraf announced their “Rose Campaign”.

The road blocks did not stop the Hindraf’s campaign from taking place but the road blocks did make many road users who are not involved in the Hindraf’s campaign frustrated and angry, stuck in traffic jams for hours.

(One wonders what will happen when the “anti ISA” and “pro ISA” meet up at Istana Negara? Go for teh-tarik with the King? Image source: Malaysiakini)

Fast forward to 2009 – after several postponements, we decided to go for the next blood donation on this Saturday. We are aware of the large “anti ISA” and “pro ISA” gathering in the city and the outcome of this gathering could be bloody. We don’t really care what happens in the city centre, we will be far from it but the morons at the Home Ministry are having the usual “itch” on massive road blocks.

And the latest news snippets from Malaysiakini does not looking too promising:-

The biggest opposition party in the country has ordered its one million members to take part in an anti-ISA protest in KL tomorrow

And

Police have set up roadblocks at major traffic arteries throughout the Klang Valley towards Kuala Lumpur ahead of two mass rallies planned for tomorrow.

We have been thinking of “postponing” again our blood donation but we will be busy next week and we do not know when we can fix the right date for blood donation. Not much choice but as what we did last year, I guess we need to slog it out in the traffic jam to finish our task. But still, I know that we are going to get “fucked” at the road blocks! We are going to waste productive time and fuel for nothing.

Probably leaving home early and with a full tank and plenty titbits and food in the car would be helpful.